A man currently facing bigamy charges was outed by one of his wives after she discovered on Facebook that he was married to another woman. The man had entered into a second marriage after leaving his first wife in 2009, but he never filed for divorce from one wife before marrying the next.
The first wife made the discovery after the man’s second spouse was suggested to her as a potential friend through Facebook’s “People You May Know” feature. When she clicked on the woman’s profile, she saw a picture of her husband and his new wife on their wedding day.
After making the discovery, the woman called the man’s mother. An hour later, the man arrived at his first wife’s residence and admitted that he had never formally divorced her.
According to documents filed in court, neither party did file for divorce. After being discovered by his first wife, the man asked her to keep quiet about his dual marriages and to let him remedy the situation. Instead, the woman called the police.
The man’s second marriage closely followed a formal name change. Now, he faces up to one year in prison if convicted on bigamy charges.
The legal circumstances the man now finds himself in underscore the potential liability posed by social networks like Facebook, as we have certainly noted in past blog posts for our Florida and other readers that concern child custody, child support and additional matters. More and more, authorities are using information obtained through the social networks — including information turned in by other people — to build cases against and substantiate charges against potential wrongdoers.
Source: USA TODAY, “Washington woman finds husband’s other wife on Facebook,” March 10, 2012